Hate crime defendant comes out during murder trial

A New York man accused of a homophobic murder is claiming mid-trial that he is also gay.

The defendant Anthony Fortunato, 21, was outed by his lawyer Gerald J. Di Chiara in court on Monday.

Mr Di Chiara claims that Fortunato has been meeting men for sex on the internet since he was seventeen and said that his turmoil over coming out had in fact added to the defendant’s unstable state of mind and a previous suicide attempt.

Fortunato is accused of luring Micheal J. Sandy, 29, from Williamsburg, Brooklyn to a deserted beach on 8 October 2006 with the intention of robbing him.

He then allegedly took part in an attack that led to Mr Sandy’s death as he fled and was hit by a car on the Belt Parkway.

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